Program helps feed hungry kids on weekends

Published: Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at 04:57 PM.

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“…There are hungry children in this community who need to be taken care of,” she said. “And certainly we have not reached all of these children. We have just done the best we could.”

You can reach Wade Allen at 704-869-1828 or twitter.com/GazetteWade.

Want to watch? What: BackPack Weekend Food Program featured on “Carolina Impact” TV show When: 8 and 11 p.m. April 3 and 5:30 p.m. April 5 Where: Charlotte PBS station WTVI For cable users: WTVI is Time Warner Cable HD station 1222 For more information or vote: go to www.wtvi.org

Macaroni and cheese bowls, cereal, fruit and milk frequent the menu. Local churches and nonprofits foot the bill for the food. Volunteers bag up groceries and kids stop by distribution sites to pick up the goods.

It’s been that way for three years. Niemeyer, 70, has been at the helm since its inception.

‘Hungry children’: The program will get some publicity via TV this week. The BackPack Weekend Food Program will be featured on the show “Carolina Impact” on Charlotte’s PBS station WTVI.

The student food program is one of three finalists in the station’s Community Give Back contest.

Online voting, expected to begin after April 10, will determine the winner. The top prize is a publicity video created by the PBS station.

Niemeyer entered the Community Give Back contest earlier this year. She thought it would be a good way to bring attention to the local program, which feeds 735 students each weekend. Recipients are selected by the school system as those most likely to be hungry in between school days.

Niemeyer said she can’t take the credit for the program. She’s quick to thank volunteers who help make it happen, including fellow parishioners at Gastonia’s Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.

“…There are hungry children in this community who need to be taken care of,” she said. “And certainly we have not reached all of these children. We have just done the best we could.”

You can reach Wade Allen at 704-869-1828 or twitter.com/GazetteWade.

Want to watch? What: BackPack Weekend Food Program featured on “Carolina Impact” TV show When: 8 and 11 p.m. April 3 and 5:30 p.m. April 5 Where: Charlotte PBS station WTVI For cable users: WTVI is Time Warner Cable HD station 1222 For more information or vote: go to www.wtvi.org